Nick Kyrgios spent a game refusing to play the ball after being given a code violation for swearing against Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

Tennis’s new bad boy Nick Kyrgios has been knocked out of Wimbledon after living up to his reputation in one of the most ill-tempered matches seen at the tournament in years.

The Australian 20-year-old faces a heavy fine after apparently throwing a game in a sulk after his opponent, Richard Gasquet, broke his serve in the second set, with Kyrgios making no effort to return Gasquet’s shots.

Nick Kyrgios’ Wimbledon ends amid controversy against Richard Gasquet

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It provoked boos from the crowd and led Sue Barker, the BBC presenter, to say: “I have never seen anything like it at Wimbledon.”

Kyrgios was also censured by the match umpire James Keothavong for swearing, retorted angrily when the official asked about him changing his socks between games, and berated his own fans for cheering before a serve that he then missed.

At one point, however, the player won laughter from the crowd when he broke off play to hug a ballboy on court.

Perhaps provoked by his opponent, Gasquet also lost his cool when Kyrgios rallied to take the third set, flinging his racquet across the court and then smashing it repeatedly into the grass until it bent. The Frenchman went on to win the match 7-5, 6-1, 6-7, 7-6.

By the close of the match, Kyrgios was trending worldwide on Twitter.

Kyrgios has been hit with repeated “code violations” during his four Wimbledon matches, for misdemeanours including “audible obscenities”, bouncing his racquet so forcefully on the ground that it bounced into the stands, and refusing to play on after disputing a line call.

He was forced to deny that the phrase “dirty scum”, which he was overheard muttering after an exchange with the umpire in an earlier match, had been directed at the official. And in an ugly exchange with a third umpire in another match, he shouted: “Does it feel good to be in the chair up there? Does it feel strong to be up there?”

He has even managed to get in trouble when not in court, after scaling a fence to watch compatriot Lleyton Hewitt play, before being told to get down by an official.

Kyrgios, who has said he “[doesn’t] really like the sport of tennis that much” and declares his love of basketball by wearing a “shooting sleeve” on his non-playing arm, has been praised as an exceptionally talented young player with a devastating serve. “I think he is without a doubt one of the most dangerous players in the draw,” John McEnroe said earlier this week. “He is, to me, going to win majors.”

But he has attracted increasing criticism for an attitude that has seen earning repeated code violations in Grand Slams – and which led a writer for the Sydney Morning Herald to to describe him as “a bit of a tool”, and The Australian to ask: “Nick Kyrgios – Breath of fresh air or total dickhead?”

Asked earlier this week about those who disapproved of his behaviour, Kyrgios shrugged and said: “I don’t care.”